Kathy is a colleague, friend, and the primary recipient of the Math at Home grant, which makes her my boss in this endeavor! Kathy has the benefit of hindsight as her children are mostly grown and she has worked in the field of early childhood education, in one capacity or another, for eons. I appreciate […]

Strange summer weather this year! First it was cold, and then it was hot, and then it was cold. Who knows what the next couple of weeks will bring. No matter- I will always think of the final weeks of August as the hottest part of the summer and the part that marks upcoming change. […]

I received this email the other day from a Math at Home reader and I wanted to share it with you. Hey! Hello there.. I’m Kristy! I’m a volunteer mentor for a local kids and youth program. I volunteer my time to kids/teens to help build character, reach goals, and further education. Anyway, I hope […]

Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes. CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.B.4 Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices/“corners”) and other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length). CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.B.5 Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components (e.g., […]

On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune published a beautiful tribute to Barbara Bowman. It focused on her life’s work – early childhood care and education. We, in Chicago, have been so lucky to have her here. Check it out here.

If book making becomes a regular part of your program it might be nice for the children to create stickers that either describe a) who wrote and illustrated the book, or b) who owns the book. You can download templates for “This Book Belongs to….” stickers that look like the ones below   or you […]

I have received nearly a dozen responses to my Parent Questionnaire (not bad, eh?) about children and math. Our first respondent is Chris – my colleague and friend, a new dad, and a math educator. Since his children are still quite little, he has not had very many experiences with early childhood mathematics, but is […]

Here are two examples of bookmaking – one that I consider to be developmentally appropriate, interesting, engaging, and best practice and another that I consider to be boring, and – for lack of a better term – lazy. I frequently hear early childhood teachers introducing shapes as a curricular concept to children. This is good […]

I split the Geometry Standard into 2 parts for easier unpacking and even though I have written extensively about Geometry over the months, there are additional dimensions to this standard that are definitely worth exploring deeply. Identify and describe shapes. CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.A.1 Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions […]

Book making is one of those activities that some children will choose right from the get-go and others will warm to over time. There are many ways you can make your own book templates (pop-ups are a favorite and this site will teach you how to make 3 different kinds) which are perfectly fine for […]